INDIAN HILL – The commutes after school to Middletown to coach football have ended.

Indian Hill High School faculty member Tony Arcuri had been driving that route to coach at Bishop Fenwick, but is now in the halls and on the field as head coach of the Braves. Arcuri, prior to Fenwick, was a Cincinnati Hills League head coach with Madeira for two years.

The energetic coach has already made his presence known by trying to organize more community involvement on Friday nights off Drake Road. Earlier this month, he put his troops through “Hits on the Hill,” a public practice to unveil his new fast-pace play to Touchdown Club members and other fans.

Indian Hill will borrow from Loveland and run a juiced-up version of the Wing-T. Arcuri knew the offense from coaching under current Loveland coach Fred Cranford at Fenwick.

“You have to be diversified offensively,” Arcuri said. “It would be nice to say we’re going to line up and run people over, but coaches are too sophisticated now. They put in energy and time scouting and they’re just going to do what it takes to take that facet away. You’ve got to be able to more spread and stretch the field vertically.”

A couple of young guns will battle it out for control of the Braves’ new look. Sophomore Reid Aichholz and freshman Danny Vanatsky are your future flingers. As extra insurance, Arcuri has added veteran coach Jim Vanatsky, who coached Loveland’s Division II championship quarterbacks last fall.

Toting the rock for the Braves could be seniors Jason Littman, Kyle NeCamp or Charles Stephens, with senior lineman Sam Szames and junior Grant Gottdiner leading the way. In the new offense, it’s a guessing game for defenses as to where the ball rests.

“I don’t even know if they understood a traditional fullback,” Arcuri said of the new formation. “I can say with certainty there hasn’t been a traditional, trap-running, isolation-leading fullback at this school in 12-13 years. It was primarily one-back sets.”

On the receiving end could junior Nick Heidel and sophomore Dawson Aichholz. Overall, seven offensive and eight defensive starters are back out of roughly 58 players.

“It’s up from last year,” Arcuri said. “It’s a possibility we’ll start 22 different people. Will that continue? It’s hard to tell. Everyone is learning two positions.”

One most likely to go both ways is Szames, who had 12 sacks last year as a defensive lineman. The school record is 16.

Indian Hill last won a CHL title in 2008 in the Bo Cordell-Ted Bolser days. To get them back, Arcuri is trying to keep the Braves acquainted with the remodeled weight room and notifying them that June and July aren’t necessarily set aside for the swim club.

“There’s got to be a cultural shift,” Arcuri said. “We’ve gone through some growing pains on what it takes to be football successful.”

For a fourth-straight year, Indian Hill opens with New Richmond. The Braves and Lions battle at Tomahawk Stadium Aug. 29.